1) Interfaith dialogues are elitist

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1) Interfaith dialogues are elitist
By bringing together very senior, very influential religious leaders, the assumption is that they can wield their power to shape the thinking and practices of those lower down their institutional hierarchies. But as enormously influential as these senior leaders are, local leaders are not simply foot soldiers following commands from top. If the power-based of local religious leaders is one that is not favourable to religious equality and liberty, they are not going to de-legitimise themselves by going against the flow. Besides, in many cases local leaders from different religious communities have explained to me that while they respect their senior leaders, they see their rhetoric as part of their high-level diplomacy, the exigencies of the role if you like.